Dynamically configuring a process based on environmental characteristics monitored by a mobile device

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are non-limiting examples of systems, apparatus, methods and computer program products for dynamically configuring a process associated with an application based on environmental characteristics monitored by a mobile device. In some implementations, the process includes stages and decision nodes. There is a configurable flow along a path defined by a subset of the stages controlled by a subset of the decision nodes. Contextual data is provided by the mobile device on which the application is usable. The contextual data indicates one or more environmental characteristics associated with a physical environment in which the mobile device is or has been located. The contextual data can be provided as a control input to a decision node associated with a current stage of the process. The process can be configured accordingly.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material,which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This patent document generally relates to processes in a computingenvironment and, more specifically, to techniques for configuringprocesses based on contextual data provided by a mobile device.

BACKGROUND

“Cloud computing” services provide shared resources, software, andinformation to computers and other devices upon request. In cloudcomputing environments, software can be accessible over the Internetrather than installed locally on in-house computer systems. Cloudcomputing typically involves over-the-Internet provision of dynamicallyscalable and often virtualized resources. Technological details can beabstracted from the users, who no longer have need for expertise in, orcontrol over, the technology infrastructure “in the cloud” that supportsthem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The included drawings are for illustrative purposes and serve only toprovide examples of possible structures and operations for the disclosedinventive systems, apparatus, methods and computer program products.These drawings in no way limit any changes in form and detail that maybe made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit andscope of the disclosed implementations.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example of a framework 100 ofsequences of stages and associated decision nodes for dynamicallyconfiguring a process associated with an application based onenvironmental characteristics monitored by a mobile device, according tosome implementations.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 200 for dynamicallyconfiguring a process associated with an application based onenvironmental characteristics monitored by a mobile device, according tosome implementations.

FIG. 3A shows a partial flow diagram of an example of a process 300Abeing dynamically configured based on environmental characteristicsmonitored by a mobile device, according to some implementations.

FIG. 3B shows a partial flow diagram of another example of a process300B being dynamically configured based on environmental characteristicsmonitored by a mobile device, according to some implementations.

FIG. 3C shows a partial flow diagram of another example of a process300C being dynamically configured based on environmental characteristicsmonitored by a mobile device, according to some implementations.

FIG. 4A shows a block diagram of an example of an environment 10 inwhich an on-demand database service can be used in accordance with someimplementations.

FIG. 4B shows a block diagram of an example of some implementations ofelements of FIG. 4A and various possible interconnections between theseelements.

FIG. 5A shows a system diagram of an example of architectural componentsof an on-demand database service environment 900, in accordance withsome implementations.

FIG. 5B shows a system diagram further illustrating an example ofarchitectural components of an on-demand database service environment,in accordance with some implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples of systems, apparatus, methods and computer program productsaccording to the disclosed implementations are described in thissection. These examples are being provided solely to add context and aidin the understanding of the disclosed implementations. It will thus beapparent to one skilled in the art that implementations may be practicedwithout some or all of these specific details. In other instances,certain operations have not been described in detail to avoidunnecessarily obscuring implementations. Other applications arepossible, such that the following examples should not be taken asdefinitive or limiting either in scope or setting.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of the description and in whichare shown, by way of illustration, specific implementations. Althoughthese implementations are described in sufficient detail to enable oneskilled in the art to practice the disclosed implementations, it isunderstood that these examples are not limiting, such that otherimplementations may be used and changes may be made without departingfrom their spirit and scope. For example, the operations of methodsshown and described herein are not necessarily performed in the orderindicated. It should also be understood that the methods may includemore or fewer operations than are indicated. In some implementations,operations described herein as separate operations may be combined.Conversely, what may be described herein as a single operation may beimplemented in multiple operations.

Some implementations described or referenced herein are directed todifferent systems, methods, apparatus and computer program products fordynamically configuring a process based on environmental characteristicsmonitored by a mobile device. In some implementations, the behavior,logic and/or functionality of a process associated with a computingapplication can be dynamically determined and/or altered usingcontextual data automatically detected by the electronics of a user'smobile device, such as a smartphone. In some implementations, theprocess is a part of a native application, that is, a computingapplication installed on the mobile device. In some otherimplementations, the process and computing application are partially orentirely server-based, such as in the case of cloud-based servicesaccessible via a web browser installed on the mobile device. In suchserver-based scenarios, when a process is partially or entirely carriedout by one or more servers, a server sends data and instructions to themobile device to control what is displayed on the device. While theprocess is being carried out, the mobile device can be monitoring andsending to the server contextual data indicating environmentalcharacteristics of a physical environment in which the mobile device isor has been located such as accelerometer data, geolocation data,altitude data, battery life, network signal strength, proximity sensordata, detected light levels, audio data indicating background noiselevel, fingerprint sensor data identifying a fingerprint of a usertouching a display screen of the mobile device, or any combinationthereof. When such information is received at the server, theinformation can be provided as a control input to determine the nextstage of the configurable process, as further explained herein.

Those skilled in the art should appreciate that, in someimplementations, the server-based processing described above is carriedout on the mobile device, so the disclosed techniques can be implementedentirely on the mobile device rather than in a client-server scenario.

In some implementations, the contextual data is stored in metadata andprocessed to configure, modify and/or optimize the behavior, logicand/or functionality of a process to provide more relevant computingservices to a user of the application. The sequence of stages of aprocess can thus be dynamically determined. The logic driving anapplication's behavior and user interface on the mobile device can thusbe controlled in near real-time using contextual data. In some otherimplementations, the behavior and user interface of an online serviceaccessible via a web browser on a mobile device can similarly becontrolled and altered.

In some implementations, the criteria of certain rules associated with acurrent stage of a process can be applied to contextual data todetermine which stage or sequence of stages follows the current stagewhen the rules are automatically applied in carrying out the process.For instance, a rule can specify that stage C rather than stage B is tofollow current stage A when monitored geolocation data or battery lifeis within a designated numerical range or has some othercondition/characteristic. Thus, the flow of a process and associateddata to be displayed to a user can be dynamically changed from itsdefault path based on contextual data. In some other implementations,the criteria itself can be set or adjusted using contextual data or ahistory of contextual data to affect which stage follows the currentstage. In some other implementations, metadata controlling rules orbusiness logic can be altered based on contextual data.

In a non-limiting example, salesforce.com, inc. of San Francisco, Calif.provides cloud-based workflow tools such as Visual Workflow™ orLightning Process Builder™, which provides to customer organizations ofsalesforce.com, inc. an online service for graphically representing anddeclaratively building automated business processes using workflowrules. System events, processing stages, decision nodes, sequences ofstages, tasks such as user actions, etc. can be selected, inserted,manipulated and customized to set up an automated process frameworkusing Lightning Process Builder™. For instance, a system administrator(admin) or other authorized user can drag and drop blocks of logiccorresponding to stages to create and customize a process. The admin cangraphically insert and customize decision nodes, for instance, so a“Yes” outcome to a decision leads a user down one path, while “No” leadsdown another. The admin can work through a user interface to define andcustomize stages and process flow in terms of business logic anddecision nodes. For instance, rules and criteria can be selected,customized, and applied at a decision node.

In some implementations, the disclosed techniques can be used inrelation to various applications and online services that provide mobilefield service, because a common goal in mobile field service is toprovide a field service technician or other user carrying a mobiledevice with a “guided path”, which suggests next steps in the form oftasks for the user to complete her work using her mobile device. Signalscarrying contextual data can be relayed from the mobile device to aserver as an input to a process constructed with a tool such asLightning Process Builder™, which defines state transitions, visibilityof fields, workflow triggers, etc. for a process to move from one stageto the next. For instance, a field service technician using a particularprocess could have a default sequence of tasks, which the technician isinstructed to follow. With some of the disclosed techniques, however, adecision node can be linked with each task to determine what the nexttask or set of tasks will be according to current contextual datadetected at the technician's mobile device. Tasks can be removed,skipped, replaced, altered, added, etc. depending on currentenvironmental characteristics. Mobile device contextual data can thus beleveraged by a process and associated application to present anoptimized user interface to the user, intelligently suggest next besttasks or other actions, restrict the user from taking actions which arenot optimal in the current environment, and surface more relevantinformation to the user. The ultimate flow of the process as affected bythe contextual data will be relayed back to the mobile device to bepresented in a user interface to enhance and streamline the userexperience.

By way of illustration, Bob is a field service technician employed by acable television company. When Bob is dispatched to perform a repair ata customer site, he uses a mobile service app on his iPhone®. The mobileservice app interacts with a process on a back-end server that promptsBob to enter various data and instructs Bob as to tasks to perform tocomplete a repair. Some of the disclosed techniques can be implementedto leverage contextual data relayed from Bob's mobile device to theserver. Based on the relayed environmental characteristics, the servercan send a signal to update the user interface on Bob's mobile device tobe scoped to the most relevant information for Bob at the particularstage of performing the repair. Based on what is deciphered from Bob'scontextual data, Bob is guided through a dynamically configured processfor a user experience based on what the cable television company wants,such as specific next tasks to perform, instructions as to how toperform the tasks, focused questions to gather pertinent user input fromBob, etc. Thus, Bob can efficiently and effectively respond to andnavigate through a variety of scenarios.

When Bob is completing his repair job, background noise relayed by Bob'siPhone® can be processed to determine that Bob is in too noisy of anenvironment. Thus, a default process flow can be altered using thedisclosed techniques to cause a page layout to be displayed on Bob'siPhone® that only provides Bob with the option of manually typing areport rather than the default next step of instructing Bob to make avoice recording or video. Or if the battery life on Bob's iPhone® isbelow a threshold, Bob can be instructed to refrain from the usual nextstep of taking a picture to validate that the repair is complete.Instead, Bob can be instructed to check his email later for a link toclick through and manually update a database record. In another example,geolocation information relayed by Bob's iPhone® may indicate that Bobhas already left the customer site before completing the report. Thus,the process flow can be changed to create a task instructing Bob toreturn to the site by a certain deadline and only then record the serialnumber of an installed piece of hardware. Otherwise, a prompt would beimmediately displayed on Bob's iPhone® asking for the serial number. Bythe same token, the timing of obtaining a customer's signature can bechanged depending on geolocation information. If Bob is still at thecustomer site, Bob can be prompted to obtain the customer's signature.If Bob has left the site, Bob can be prompted to return to the site orskip the signature stage and start working on the next job order.

Some of the disclosed techniques can be similarly implemented to assistmobile workers in other field service scenarios such as insurance claimsrepresentatives dispatched to an automobile accident site to assessdamage, automobile glass repair technicians dispatched to a customer'shome to replace a windshield of a specific make, model and year of thecustomer's car, package delivery persons, and door-to-door salespeople.In some scenarios, contextual data can be used to determine an optimalcommunication channel for a technician or other user to communicate withher team, manager, dispatcher, etc. For example, in low bandwidthenvironments, instant messaging may be more desirable than a phone callor video conference. Thus, in various settings, a guided, dynamicallycustomized and optimized flow with up-to-date and relevant instructionsfor a user can be provided by practicing some of the disclosedimplementations.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example of a framework 100 ofsequences of stages and associated decision nodes for dynamicallyconfiguring a process associated with an application based onenvironmental characteristics monitored by a mobile device, according tosome implementations. In FIG. 1, a process can be defined anddynamically configured with any number of stages, some of which areidentified by reference numerals 104 a-104 f. Some stages such as stages104 a-104 f have associated decision nodes, as identified by referencenumerals 108 a-108 f. A process implemented and configured according toframework 100 of FIG. 1 can be a component of an application installedon a mobile device. In some other implementations, the application canbe located on one or more servers with which a mobile device caninteract to receive and display output data of the application. In someother implementations, one or more components of an application areinstalled on the mobile device, while other components of theapplication are installed on a server.

In FIG. 1, the process has a configurable flow along any number ofpossible paths through various stages. The ultimate path followed by theprocess is controlled at least in part by outcomes of determinations atdecision nodes, such as nodes 108 a-108 f of stages 104 a-104 f. Forexample, applying criteria at a subset of decision nodes, namely nodes108 a, 108 b, 108 d and 108 f has resulted in a path 112 defined by asubset of stages corresponding to the subset of decision nodes, namelystages 104 a, 104 b, 104 d and 104 f. Thus, the selection of aparticular subset of stages to define the flow of a process isdetermined at least in part by the application of a criterion orcriteria at each decision node. In this example, defining and/orupdating criteria at a given node as well as the contextual data towhich the criteria is applied affects the next stage to follow a currentstage and impacts which particular subset of stages is followed todefine path 112. Business rules applying the criteria and otherapplication-specific information of the particular process will alsohave an effect on the outcome at a given decision node. Various otherpaths in addition to or as an alternative to path 112 can be followedusing various different subsets of the stages illustrated in FIG. 1 todefine a configurable flow.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 200 for dynamicallyconfiguring a process associated with an application based onenvironmental characteristics monitored by a mobile device, according tosome implementations. In FIG. 2, at 204, one or more servers provide aprocess associated with an application. That is, in this example, theprocess is managed at one or more servers in the cloud and delivers datato a mobile device that can be displayed or cause updating of a userinterface on a display of the device. This displaying and updating ofdata in a user interface can encompass not only the display ofparticular graphical objects, text, instructions and fields in apresentation, but also the available graphical input controls and/ortypes of controls for a given field based on contextual data. In FIG. 2,during the performance of the process, at 206, the mobile devicedisplays a user interface associated with a current stage of theprocess. At 208, contextual data as gathered by the mobile device istransmitted to the server. It should be noted that 208 need not follow206, for instance, when contextual data has been transmitted to theserver before displaying or updating the user interface at 206.

In FIG. 2, when the server receives the contextual data from the mobiledevice, at 212, the server can use the contextual data as a controlinput to a decision node associated with a current stage of the process,as illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, criteria can be applied to thecontextual data generated at 208 of FIG. 2. At 216, the server appliesone or more criteria corresponding to a decision node of the currentstage of the process to determine an outcome and corresponding nextstage of the process. For example, at 216, one or more user-configurableworkflow rules can be applied, where the workflow rules incorporate thecriteria. As further illustrated herein, a workflow rule can beconfigured using a reference value with which at least a portion of thecontextual data can be compared. For example, a workflow rule can besatisfied when a power level or other battery status data provided bythe mobile device is less than or equal to 5 volts.

In FIG. 2, depending on the outcome of whether the contextual dataobtained from the mobile device satisfies one or more criteria at thecurrent decision node, at 220, the server dynamically configures theprocess by determining one or more next stages along which the processis to flow. At 224, the server can store or update data in a database orother suitable computer readable medium to track path 112 of theprocess, as illustrated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, at 228, before or afterthe storage of data at 224, the server can transmit a signal to themobile device to cause the user interface to display instructions,relevant data and any other graphical content to at least indicate thenext stage of the process as determined at 220.

As mentioned above, when criteria is applied to contextual data todetermine a next stage of the process, the process can be dynamicallyconfigured by replacing a stage, removing a stage, adding a stage,and/or modifying a stage based on the contextual data. Also, while FIG.2 shows an example in which one or more servers perform theabove-described operations at 204, 212, 216, 220 and 224, somealternative examples provide for the mobile device to perform one ormore of such operations, as should be appreciated by those skilled inthe art.

The overall behavior, logic and/or functionality of a process can bedetermined or configured using the disclosed techniques, as can aparticular stage of the process. In some implementations, a next stageof a process as determined using the disclosed techniques can includespecific tasks or other user actions. In some implementations, the nextstage of a dynamically configurable process indicates one or more tasksinstructed or suggested to a user to perform. A specific task, which auser is instructed to perform at a next stage of a configurable processcan be determined and/or configured based on contextual data receivedfrom a mobile device. For example, as further illustrated in theexamples below, a task-based workflow can be defined or modified inrelation to contextual data to govern which tasks are conveyed to auser's mobile device. For instance, the specific battery level of themobile device in relation to a threshold may govern whether a user isinstructed to change power settings on the device or put the device insleep mode. In some implementations, a system event associated with anext stage of a dynamic process can be determined and/or configured tobe performed in relation to a social network feed, as in the case of asocial networking system being available. In some other implementations,a system event can be performed in relation to a customer relationshipmanagement (CRM) record stored in a database, for instance, when one ormore fields of the record are to be updated.

FIG. 3A shows a partial flow diagram of an example of a process 300Abeing dynamically configured based on environmental characteristicsmonitored by a mobile device, according to some implementations. In FIG.3A, as part of the performance of dynamically configurable process 300A,a decision node 304 is reached. It is determined at decision node 304 inthe setting of a given application whether a field service technicianusing a mobile device is required to deliver detailed notes to acustomer being serviced by the technician. For instance, a customer caseor other CRM record stored in a CRM database can be checked to determinewhether delivery of notes is appropriate. If not, the flow of process300A proceeds to 306, where a user interface on the technician's mobiledevice is controlled to prevent entering text, which the technicianwould otherwise do to update the customer's case in the CRM database.

In FIG. 3A, returning to node 304, in situations where the detailednotes are supposed to be delivered to the customer as part of theapplication being used by the technician, process 300A is configured toflow to decision node 308, at which it is determined whether ambientsound picked up by a microphone on the technician's mobile device isgreater than a threshold level, such as 10 decibels (dB) in thisexample. When the ambient sound detected by the technician's mobiledevice is less than or equal to 10 dB, in this example, process 300A isconfigured to flow to stage 312, at which a prompt is generated in auser interface on the mobile device requesting that the techniciandictate notes by speaking into the microphone. Returning to decisionnode 308, when ambient sound is greater than 10 dB, in this example, theflow of process 300A is configured to proceed to stage 316, at which aprompt is displayed on the technician's mobile device requesting thetechnician to manually enter text using a keyboard, as opposed to voicedictation. Returning to decision node 308, those skilled in the artshould appreciate that the 10 dB value is one of many examples of athreshold, which can be user-specified and customized as desired toaffect the flow of process 300A.

FIG. 3B shows a partial flow diagram of another example of a process300B being dynamically configured based on environmental characteristicsmonitored by a mobile device, according to some implementations. In theexample of FIG. 3B, when a field service technician finishes servicing acurrent customer at the customer's location, dynamically configurableprocess 300B reaches decision node 324 during execution of anapplication with which process 300B is associated. A CRM record storedin a database is checked at node 324 to determine whether there are anyopen opportunities or other types of CRM records for the technician tosell additional items to the current customer. For example, the cablecompany for which the technician works may have an interest in offeringan upgraded Internet and phone package to the customer followingresolution of the customer's complaint.

In FIG. 3B, at node 324, if there are open opportunities identified inthe CRM database, process 300B is configured to proceed to stage 328, atwhich a user interface on the technician's mobile device is controlledto direct the technician to try to sell the open opportunities to thecurrent customer before leaving. Returning to node 324, when there areno open opportunities identified, process 300B is configured to proceedto decision node 332. In this example, node 332 is defined by auser-configurable workflow rule to check whether current globalpositioning system (GPS) coordinates of the technician's mobile phoneare within 10 miles of addresses of any other customers to whom the openopportunities can be pitched before the technician's next scheduledappointment. In this example, 10 miles is a configurable criterion,which can be customized by a user depending on the desiredimplementation. For example, a distance greater than 10 miles betweenthe technician and another customer to whom the opportunities areapplicable may represent an unreasonably long time required for thetechnician to travel before the technician's next scheduled appointment.

In FIG. 3B, at node 332, when the GPS coordinates indicate that anothercustomer is within the 10 mile radius, process 300B is configured toproceed to stage 336, at which the user interface on the technician'smobile device is controlled to display a prompt directing the technicianto drive to visit the other customer and pitch the new opportunities. At332, when the GPS coordinates indicate that there are no other customerswithin the 10 mile radius, process 300B is configured to proceed tostage 340 to direct the technician to drive to the next appointment toservice the next customer having technical issues or other problems.

FIG. 3C shows a partial flow diagram of another example of a process300C being dynamically configured based on environmental characteristicsmonitored by a mobile device, according to some implementations. In theexample of FIG. 3C, when dynamically configurable process 300C reachesdecision node 340, metadata stored in a CRM database is checked todetermine whether the customer is located in a potentially dangerousenvironment.

For example, any of the various types of environmental characteristicsdetected by the mobile device can be compared with CRM metadata todetermine whether criteria indicating a dangerous environment aresatisfied. If not, process 300C is configured to proceed to stage 344,at which a safety feature on the technician's mobile device is disabled.

In FIG. 3C, returning to node 340, when comparison of environmental datawith CRM metadata indicates that a given customer is likely in apotentially dangerous environment, process 300C is configured to proceedto decision node 348, at which it is determined whether an accelerometerin the technician's mobile device has detected any movement of thedevice within a time threshold, such as 5 minutes. As in the examples ofFIGS. 3A and 3B, 5 minutes is a user-customizable criterion, which canbe set to govern the flow of configurable process 300C. At node 348,when movement has been detected within the 5 minute threshold, process300C is configured to repeat the determination at node 348, generallyafter some delay period such as 5 seconds. At node 348, in instanceswhen no movement has been detected within 5 minutes, process 300C isconfigured to proceed to 352, at which the user interface on thetechnician's mobile device is controlled to display a prompt requestinginput from the technician to confirm that the technician is safe beforedisplaying data for the technician to read and before enabling thedevice to allow the technician to update information.

FIG. 4A shows a block diagram of an example of an environment 10 inwhich an on-demand database service can be used in accordance with someimplementations. Environment 10 may include user systems 12, network 14,database system 16, processor system 17, application platform 18,network interface 20, tenant data storage 22, system data storage 24,program code 26, and process space 28. In other implementations,environment 10 may not have all of these components and/or may haveother components instead of, or in addition to, those listed above.

A user system 12 may be implemented as any computing device(s) or otherdata processing apparatus such as a machine or system used by a user toaccess a database system 16. For example, any of user systems 12 can bea handheld and/or mobile computing device such as a mobile phone, asmartphone, a laptop computer, or a tablet. Other examples of a usersystem include computing devices such as a work station and/or a networkof computing devices. As illustrated in FIG. 4A (and in more detail inFIG. 4B) user systems 12 might interact via a network 14 with anon-demand database service, which is implemented in the example of FIG.4A as database system 16.

An on-demand database service, implemented using system 16 by way ofexample, is a service that is made available to users who do not need tonecessarily be concerned with building and/or maintaining the databasesystem. Instead, the database system may be available for their use whenthe users need the database system, i.e., on the demand of the users.Some on-demand database services may store information from one or moretenants into tables of a common database image to form a multi-tenantdatabase system (MTS). A database image may include one or more databaseobjects. A relational database management system (RDBMS) or theequivalent may execute storage and retrieval of information against thedatabase object(s). Application platform 18 may be a framework thatallows the applications of system 16 to run, such as the hardware and/orsoftware, e.g., the operating system. In some implementations,application platform 18 enables creation, managing and executing one ormore applications developed by the provider of the on-demand databaseservice, users accessing the on-demand database service via user systems12, or third party application developers accessing the on-demanddatabase service via user systems 12.

The users of user systems 12 may differ in their respective capacities,and the capacity of a particular user system 12 might be entirelydetermined by permissions (permission levels) for the current user. Forexample, when a salesperson is using a particular user system 12 tointeract with system 16, the user system has the capacities allotted tothat salesperson. However, while an administrator is using that usersystem to interact with system 16, that user system has the capacitiesallotted to that administrator. In systems with a hierarchical rolemodel, users at one permission level may have access to applications,data, and database information accessible by a lower permission leveluser, but may not have access to certain applications, databaseinformation, and data accessible by a user at a higher permission level.Thus, different users will have different capabilities with regard toaccessing and modifying application and database information, dependingon a user's security or permission level, also called authorization.Network 14 is any network or combination of networks of devices thatcommunicate with one another. For example, network 14 can be any one orany combination of a LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area network),telephone network, wireless network, point-to-point network, starnetwork, token ring network, hub network, or other appropriateconfiguration. Network 14 can include a TCP/IP (Transfer ControlProtocol and Internet Protocol) network, such as the global internetworkof networks often referred to as the Internet. The Internet will be usedin many of the examples herein. However, it should be understood thatthe networks that the present implementations might use are not solimited.

User systems 12 might communicate with system 16 using TCP/IP and, at ahigher network level, use other common Internet protocols tocommunicate, such as HTTP, FTP, AFS, WAP, etc. In an example where HTTPis used, user system 12 might include an HTTP client commonly referredto as a “browser” for sending and receiving HTTP signals to and from anHTTP server at system 16. Such an HTTP server might be implemented asthe sole network interface 20 between system 16 and network 14, butother techniques might be used as well or instead. In someimplementations, the network interface 20 between system 16 and network14 includes load sharing functionality, such as round-robin HTTP requestdistributors to balance loads and distribute incoming HTTP requestsevenly over a plurality of servers. At least for users accessing system16, each of the plurality of servers has access to the MTS' data;however, other alternative configurations may be used instead.

In one implementation, system 16, shown in FIG. 4A, implements aweb-based CRM system. For example, in one implementation, system 16includes application servers configured to implement and execute CRMsoftware applications as well as provide related data, code, forms, webpages and other information to and from user systems 12 and to store to,and retrieve from, a database system related data, objects, and Webpagecontent. With a multi-tenant system, data for multiple tenants may bestored in the same physical database object in tenant data storage 22,however, tenant data typically is arranged in the storage medium(s) oftenant data storage 22 so that data of one tenant is kept logicallyseparate from that of other tenants so that one tenant does not haveaccess to another tenant's data, unless such data is expressly shared.In certain implementations, system 16 implements applications otherthan, or in addition to, a CRM application. For example, system 16 mayprovide tenant access to multiple hosted (standard and custom)applications, including a CRM application. User (or third partydeveloper) applications, which may or may not include CRM, may besupported by the application platform 18, which manages creation,storage of the applications into one or more database objects andexecuting of the applications in a virtual machine in the process spaceof the system 16.

One arrangement for elements of system 16 is shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B,including a network interface 20, application platform 18, tenant datastorage 22 for tenant data 23, system data storage 24 for system data 25accessible to system 16 and possibly multiple tenants, program code 26for implementing various functions of system 16, and a process space 28for executing MTS system processes and tenant-specific processes, suchas running applications as part of an application hosting service.Additional processes that may execute on system 16 include databaseindexing processes.

Several elements in the system shown in FIG. 4A include conventional,well-known elements that are explained only briefly here. For example,each user system 12 could include a desktop personal computer,workstation, laptop, PDA, cell phone, or any wireless access protocol(WAP) enabled device or any other computing device capable ofinterfacing directly or indirectly to the Internet or other networkconnection. The term “computing device” is also referred to hereinsimply as a “computer”. User system 12 typically runs an HTTP client,e.g., a browsing program, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser,Netscape's Navigator browser, Opera's browser, or a WAP-enabled browserin the case of a cell phone, PDA or other wireless device, or the like,allowing a user (e.g., subscriber of the multi-tenant database system)of user system 12 to access, process and view information, pages andapplications available to it from system 16 over network 14. Each usersystem 12 also typically includes one or more user input devices, suchas a keyboard, a mouse, trackball, touch pad, touch screen, pen or thelike, for interacting with a GUI provided by the browser on a display(e.g., a monitor screen, LCD display, OLED display, etc.) of thecomputing device in conjunction with pages, forms, applications andother information provided by system 16 or other systems or servers.Thus, “display device” as used herein can refer to a display of acomputer system such as a monitor or touch-screen display, and can referto any computing device having display capabilities such as a desktopcomputer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, a television set-top box, orwearable device such Google Glass® or other human body-mounted displayapparatus. For example, the display device can be used to access dataand applications hosted by system 16, and to perform searches on storeddata, and otherwise allow a user to interact with various GUI pages thatmay be presented to a user. As discussed above, implementations aresuitable for use with the Internet, although other networks can be usedinstead of or in addition to the Internet, such as an intranet, anextranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a non-TCP/IP based network,any LAN or WAN or the like.

According to one implementation, each user system 12 and all of itscomponents are operator configurable using applications, such as abrowser, including computer code run using a central processing unitsuch as an Intel Pentium® processor or the like. Similarly, system 16(and additional instances of an MTS, where more than one is present) andall of its components might be operator configurable usingapplication(s) including computer code to run using processor system 17,which may be implemented to include a central processing unit, which mayinclude an Intel Pentium® processor or the like, and/or multipleprocessor units. Non-transitory computer-readable media can haveinstructions stored thereon/in, that can be executed by or used toprogram a computing device to perform any of the methods of theimplementations described herein. Computer program code 26 implementinginstructions for operating and configuring system 16 to intercommunicateand to process web pages, applications and other data and media contentas described herein is preferably downloadable and stored on a harddisk, but the entire program code, or portions thereof, may also bestored in any other volatile or non-volatile memory medium or device asis well known, such as a ROM or RAM, or provided on any media capable ofstoring program code, such as any type of rotating media includingfloppy disks, optical discs, digital versatile disk (DVD), compact disk(CD), microdrive, and magneto-optical disks, and magnetic or opticalcards, nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs), or any other typeof computer-readable medium or device suitable for storing instructionsand/or data.

Additionally, the entire program code, or portions thereof, may betransmitted and downloaded from a software source over a transmissionmedium, e.g., over the Internet, or from another server, as is wellknown, or transmitted over any other conventional network connection asis well known (e.g., extranet, VPN, LAN, etc.) using any communicationmedium and protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP, HTTPS, Ethernet, etc.) as arewell known. It will also be appreciated that computer code for thedisclosed implementations can be realized in any programming languagethat can be executed on a client system and/or server or server systemsuch as, for example, C, C++, HTML, any other markup language, Java™,JavaScript, ActiveX, any other scripting language, such as VBScript, andmany other programming languages as are well known may be used. (Java™is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.).

According to some implementations, each system 16 is configured toprovide web pages, forms, applications, data and media content to user(client) systems 12 to support the access by user systems 12 as tenantsof system 16. As such, system 16 provides security mechanisms to keepeach tenant's data separate unless the data is shared. If more than oneMTS is used, they may be located in close proximity to one another(e.g., in a server farm located in a single building or campus), or theymay be distributed at locations remote from one another (e.g., one ormore servers located in city A and one or more servers located in cityB). As used herein, each MTS could include one or more logically and/orphysically connected servers distributed locally or across one or moregeographic locations. Additionally, the term “server” is meant to referto one type of computing device such as a system including processinghardware and process space(s), an associated storage medium such as amemory device or database, and, in some instances, a databaseapplication (e.g., OODBMS or RDBMS) as is well known in the art. Itshould also be understood that “server system” and “server” are oftenused interchangeably herein. Similarly, the database objects describedherein can be implemented as single databases, a distributed database, acollection of distributed databases, a database with redundant online oroffline backups or other redundancies, etc., and might include adistributed database or storage network and associated processingintelligence.

FIG. 4B shows a block diagram of an example of some implementations ofelements of FIG. 4A and various possible interconnections between theseelements. That is, FIG. 4B also illustrates environment 10. However, inFIG. 4B elements of system 16 and various interconnections in someimplementations are further illustrated. FIG. 4B shows that user system12 may include processor system 12A, memory system 12B, input system12C, and output system 12D. FIG. 4B shows network 14 and system 16. FIG.4B also shows that system 16 may include tenant data storage 22, tenantdata 23, system data storage 24, system data 25, User Interface (UI) 30,Application Program Interface (API) 32, PL/SOQL 34, save routines 36,application setup mechanism 38, application servers 50 ₁-50 _(N), systemprocess space 52, tenant process spaces 54, tenant management processspace 60, tenant storage space 62, user storage 64, and applicationmetadata 66. In other implementations, environment 10 may not have thesame elements as those listed above and/or may have other elementsinstead of, or in addition to, those listed above.

User system 12, network 14, system 16, tenant data storage 22, andsystem data storage 24 were discussed above in FIG. 4A. Regarding usersystem 12, processor system 12A may be any combination of one or moreprocessors. Memory system 12B may be any combination of one or morememory devices, short term, and/or long term memory. Input system 12Cmay be any combination of input devices, such as one or more keyboards,mice, trackballs, scanners, cameras, and/or interfaces to networks.Output system 12D may be any combination of output devices, such as oneor more monitors, printers, and/or interfaces to networks. As shown byFIG. 4B, system 16 may include a network interface 20 (of FIG. 4A)implemented as a set of application servers 50, an application platform18, tenant data storage 22, and system data storage 24. Also shown issystem process space 52, including individual tenant process spaces 54and a tenant management process space 60. Each application server 50 maybe configured to communicate with tenant data storage 22 and the tenantdata 23 therein, and system data storage 24 and the system data 25therein to serve requests of user systems 12. The tenant data 23 mightbe divided into individual tenant storage spaces 62, which can be eithera physical arrangement and/or a logical arrangement of data. Within eachtenant storage space 62, user storage 64 and application metadata 66might be similarly allocated for each user. For example, a copy of auser's most recently used (MRU) items might be stored to user storage64. Similarly, a copy of MRU items for an entire organization that is atenant might be stored to tenant storage space 62. A UI 30 provides auser interface and an API 32 provides an application programmerinterface to system 16 resident processes to users and/or developers atuser systems 12. The tenant data and the system data may be stored invarious databases, such as one or more Oracle® databases.

Application platform 18 includes an application setup mechanism 38 thatsupports application developers' creation and management ofapplications, which may be saved as metadata into tenant data storage 22by save routines 36 for execution by subscribers as one or more tenantprocess spaces 54 managed by tenant management process 60 for example.Invocations to such applications may be coded using PL/SOQL 34 thatprovides a programming language style interface extension to API 32. Adetailed description of some PL/SOQL language implementations isdiscussed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,730,478, titled METHODAND SYSTEM FOR ALLOWING ACCESS TO DEVELOPED APPLICATIONS VIA AMULTI-TENANT ON-DEMAND DATABASE SERVICE, by Craig Weissman, issued onJun. 1, 2010, and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety andfor all purposes. Invocations to applications may be detected by one ormore system processes, which manage retrieving application metadata 66for the subscriber making the invocation and executing the metadata asan application in a virtual machine.

Each application server 50 may be communicably coupled to databasesystems, e.g., having access to system data 25 and tenant data 23, via adifferent network connection. For example, one application server 50 ₁might be coupled via the network 14 (e.g., the Internet), anotherapplication server 50 _(N-1) might be coupled via a direct network link,and another application server 50 _(N) might be coupled by yet adifferent network connection. Transfer Control Protocol and InternetProtocol (TCP/IP) are typical protocols for communicating betweenapplication servers 50 and the database system. However, it will beapparent to one skilled in the art that other transport protocols may beused to optimize the system depending on the network interconnect used.

In certain implementations, each application server 50 is configured tohandle requests for any user associated with any organization that is atenant. Because it is desirable to be able to add and remove applicationservers from the server pool at any time for any reason, there ispreferably no server affinity for a user and/or organization to aspecific application server 50. In one implementation, therefore, aninterface system implementing a load balancing function (e.g., an F5Big-IP load balancer) is communicably coupled between the applicationservers 50 and the user systems 12 to distribute requests to theapplication servers 50. In one implementation, the load balancer uses aleast connections algorithm to route user requests to the applicationservers 50. Other examples of load balancing algorithms, such as roundrobin and observed response time, also can be used. For example, incertain implementations, three consecutive requests from the same usercould hit three different application servers 50, and three requestsfrom different users could hit the same application server 50. In thismanner, by way of example, system 16 is multi-tenant, wherein system 16handles storage of, and access to, different objects, data andapplications across disparate users and organizations.

As an example of storage, one tenant might be a company that employs asales force where each salesperson uses system 16 to manage their salesprocess. Thus, a user might maintain contact data, leads data, customerfollow-up data, performance data, goals and progress data, etc., allapplicable to that user's personal sales process (e.g., in tenant datastorage 22). In an example of a MTS arrangement, since all of the dataand the applications to access, view, modify, report, transmit,calculate, etc., can be maintained and accessed by a user system havingnothing more than network access, the user can manage his or her salesefforts and cycles from any of many different user systems. For example,if a salesperson is visiting a customer and the customer has Internetaccess in their lobby, the salesperson can obtain critical updates as tothat customer while waiting for the customer to arrive in the lobby.

While each user's data might be separate from other users' dataregardless of the employers of each user, some data might beorganization-wide data shared or accessible by a plurality of users orall of the users for a given organization that is a tenant. Thus, theremight be some data structures managed by system 16 that are allocated atthe tenant level while other data structures might be managed at theuser level. Because an MTS might support multiple tenants includingpossible competitors, the MTS should have security protocols that keepdata, applications, and application use separate. Also, because manytenants may opt for access to an MTS rather than maintain their ownsystem, redundancy, up-time, and backup are additional functions thatmay be implemented in the MTS. In addition to user-specific data andtenant-specific data, system 16 might also maintain system level datausable by multiple tenants or other data. Such system level data mightinclude industry reports, news, postings, and the like that are sharableamong tenants.

In certain implementations, user systems 12 (which may be clientsystems) communicate with application servers 50 to request and updatesystem-level and tenant-level data from system 16 that may involvesending one or more queries to tenant data storage 22 and/or system datastorage 24. System 16 (e.g., an application server 50 in system 16)automatically generates one or more SQL statements (e.g., one or moreSQL queries) that are designed to access the desired information. Systemdata storage 24 may generate query plans to access the requested datafrom the database.

Each database can generally be viewed as a collection of objects, suchas a set of logical tables, containing data fitted into predefinedcategories. A “table” is one representation of a data object, and may beused herein to simplify the conceptual description of objects and customobjects according to some implementations. It should be understood that“table” and “object” may be used interchangeably herein. Each tablegenerally contains one or more data categories logically arranged ascolumns or fields in a viewable schema. Each row or record of a tablecontains an instance of data for each category defined by the fields.For example, a CRM database may include a table that describes acustomer with fields for basic contact information such as name,address, phone number, fax number, etc. Another table might describe apurchase order, including fields for information such as customer,product, sale price, date, etc. In some multi-tenant database systems,standard entity tables might be provided for use by all tenants. For CRMdatabase applications, such standard entities might include tables forcase, account, contact, lead, and opportunity data objects, eachcontaining pre-defined fields. It should be understood that the word“entity” may also be used interchangeably herein with “object” and“table”.

In some multi-tenant database systems, tenants may be allowed to createand store custom objects, or they may be allowed to customize standardentities or objects, for example by creating custom fields for standardobjects, including custom index fields. Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No.7,779,039, titled CUSTOM ENTITIES AND FIELDS IN A MULTI-TENANT DATABASESYSTEM, by Weissman et al., issued on Aug. 17, 2010, and herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety and for all purposes, teachessystems and methods for creating custom objects as well as customizingstandard objects in a multi-tenant database system. In certainimplementations, for example, all custom entity data rows are stored ina single multi-tenant physical table, which may contain multiple logicaltables per organization. It is transparent to customers that theirmultiple “tables” are in fact stored in one large table or that theirdata may be stored in the same table as the data of other customers.

FIG. 5A shows a system diagram of an example of architectural componentsof an on-demand database service environment 900, in accordance withsome implementations. A client machine located in the cloud 904,generally referring to one or more networks in combination, as describedherein, may communicate with the on-demand database service environmentvia one or more edge routers 908 and 912. A client machine can be any ofthe examples of user systems 12 described above. The edge routers maycommunicate with one or more core switches 920 and 924 via firewall 916.The core switches may communicate with a load balancer 928, which maydistribute server load over different pods, such as the pods 940 and944. The pods 940 and 944, which may each include one or more serversand/or other computing resources, may perform data processing and otheroperations used to provide on-demand services. Communication with thepods may be conducted via pod switches 932 and 936. Components of theon-demand database service environment may communicate with a databasestorage 956 via a database firewall 948 and a database switch 952.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, accessing an on-demand database serviceenvironment may involve communications transmitted among a variety ofdifferent hardware and/or software components. Further, the on-demanddatabase service environment 900 is a simplified representation of anactual on-demand database service environment. For example, while onlyone or two devices of each type are shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, someimplementations of an on-demand database service environment may includeanywhere from one to many devices of each type. Also, the on-demanddatabase service environment need not include each device shown in FIGS.5A and 5B, or may include additional devices not shown in FIGS. 5A and5B.

Moreover, one or more of the devices in the on-demand database serviceenvironment 900 may be implemented on the same physical device or ondifferent hardware. Some devices may be implemented using hardware or acombination of hardware and software. Thus, terms such as “dataprocessing apparatus,” “machine,” “server” and “device” as used hereinare not limited to a single hardware device, but rather include anyhardware and software configured to provide the described functionality.

The cloud 904 is intended to refer to a data network or combination ofdata networks, often including the Internet. Client machines located inthe cloud 904 may communicate with the on-demand database serviceenvironment to access services provided by the on-demand databaseservice environment. For example, client machines may access theon-demand database service environment to retrieve, store, edit, and/orprocess information.

In some implementations, the edge routers 908 and 912 route packetsbetween the cloud 904 and other components of the on-demand databaseservice environment 900. The edge routers 908 and 912 may employ theBorder Gateway Protocol (BGP). The BGP is the core routing protocol ofthe Internet. The edge routers 908 and 912 may maintain a table of IPnetworks or ‘prefixes’, which designate network reachability amongautonomous systems on the Internet.

In one or more implementations, the firewall 916 may protect the innercomponents of the on-demand database service environment 900 fromInternet traffic. The firewall 916 may block, permit, or deny access tothe inner components of the on-demand database service environment 900based upon a set of rules and other criteria. The firewall 916 may actas one or more of a packet filter, an application gateway, a statefulfilter, a proxy server, or any other type of firewall.

In some implementations, the core switches 920 and 924 are high-capacityswitches that transfer packets within the on-demand database serviceenvironment 900. The core switches 920 and 924 may be configured asnetwork bridges that quickly route data between different componentswithin the on-demand database service environment. In someimplementations, the use of two or more core switches 920 and 924 mayprovide redundancy and/or reduced latency.

In some implementations, the pods 940 and 944 may perform the core dataprocessing and service functions provided by the on-demand databaseservice environment. Each pod may include various types of hardwareand/or software computing resources. An example of the pod architectureis discussed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 5B.

In some implementations, communication between the pods 940 and 944 maybe conducted via the pod switches 932 and 936. The pod switches 932 and936 may facilitate communication between the pods 940 and 944 and clientmachines located in the cloud 904, for example via core switches 920 and924. Also, the pod switches 932 and 936 may facilitate communicationbetween the pods 940 and 944 and the database storage 956.

In some implementations, the load balancer 928 may distribute workloadbetween the pods 940 and 944. Balancing the on-demand service requestsbetween the pods may assist in improving the use of resources,increasing throughput, reducing response times, and/or reducingoverhead. The load balancer 928 may include multilayer switches toanalyze and forward traffic.

In some implementations, access to the database storage 956 may beguarded by a database firewall 948. The database firewall 948 may act asa computer application firewall operating at the database applicationlayer of a protocol stack. The database firewall 948 may protect thedatabase storage 956 from application attacks such as structure querylanguage (SQL) injection, database rootkits, and unauthorizedinformation disclosure.

In some implementations, the database firewall 948 may include a hostusing one or more forms of reverse proxy services to proxy trafficbefore passing it to a gateway router. The database firewall 948 mayinspect the contents of database traffic and block certain content ordatabase requests. The database firewall 948 may work on the SQLapplication level atop the TCP/IP stack, managing applications'connection to the database or SQL management interfaces as well asintercepting and enforcing packets traveling to or from a databasenetwork or application interface.

In some implementations, communication with the database storage 956 maybe conducted via the database switch 952. The multi-tenant databasestorage 956 may include more than one hardware and/or softwarecomponents for handling database queries. Accordingly, the databaseswitch 952 may direct database queries transmitted by other componentsof the on-demand database service environment (e.g., the pods 940 and944) to the correct components within the database storage 956.

In some implementations, the database storage 956 is an on-demanddatabase system shared by many different organizations. The on-demanddatabase service may employ a multi-tenant approach, a virtualizedapproach, or any other type of database approach. On-demand databaseservices are discussed in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 5A and5B.

FIG. 5B shows a system diagram further illustrating an example ofarchitectural components of an on-demand database service environment,in accordance with some implementations. The pod 944 may be used torender services to a user of the on-demand database service environment900. In some implementations, each pod may include a variety of serversand/or other systems. The pod 944 includes one or more content batchservers 964, content search servers 968, query servers 982, file servers986, access control system (ACS) servers 980, batch servers 984, and appservers 988. Also, the pod 944 includes database instances 990, quickfile systems (QFS) 992, and indexers 994. In one or moreimplementations, some or all communication between the servers in thepod 944 may be transmitted via the switch 936.

The content batch servers 964 may handle requests internal to the pod.These requests may be long-running and/or not tied to a particularcustomer. For example, the content batch servers 964 may handle requestsrelated to log mining, cleanup work, and maintenance tasks.

The content search servers 968 may provide query and indexer functions.For example, the functions provided by the content search servers 968may allow users to search through content stored in the on-demanddatabase service environment.

The file servers 986 may manage requests for information stored in thefile storage 998. The file storage 998 may store information such asdocuments, images, and basic large objects (BLOBs). By managing requestsfor information using the file servers 986, the image footprint on thedatabase may be reduced.

The query servers 982 may be used to retrieve information from one ormore file systems. For example, the query system 982 may receiverequests for information from the app servers 988 and then transmitinformation queries to the NFS 996 located outside the pod.

The pod 944 may share a database instance 990 configured as amulti-tenant environment in which different organizations share accessto the same database. Additionally, services rendered by the pod 944 maycall upon various hardware and/or software resources. In someimplementations, the ACS servers 980 may control access to data,hardware resources, or software resources.

In some implementations, the batch servers 984 may process batch jobs,which are used to run tasks at specified times. Thus, the batch servers984 may transmit instructions to other servers, such as the app servers988, to trigger the batch jobs.

In some implementations, the QFS 992 may be an open source file systemavailable from Sun Microsystems® of Santa Clara, Calif. The QFS mayserve as a rapid-access file system for storing and accessinginformation available within the pod 944. The QFS 992 may support somevolume management capabilities, allowing many disks to be groupedtogether into a file system. File system metadata can be kept on aseparate set of disks, which may be useful for streaming applicationswhere long disk seeks cannot be tolerated. Thus, the QFS system maycommunicate with one or more content search servers 968 and/or indexers994 to identify, retrieve, move, and/or update data stored in thenetwork file systems 996 and/or other storage systems.

In some implementations, one or more query servers 982 may communicatewith the NFS 996 to retrieve and/or update information stored outside ofthe pod 944. The NFS 996 may allow servers located in the pod 944 toaccess information to access files over a network in a manner similar tohow local storage is accessed.

In some implementations, queries from the query servers 922 may betransmitted to the NFS 996 via the load balancer 928, which maydistribute resource requests over various resources available in theon-demand database service environment. The NFS 996 may also communicatewith the QFS 992 to update the information stored on the NFS 996 and/orto provide information to the QFS 992 for use by servers located withinthe pod 944.

In some implementations, the pod may include one or more databaseinstances 990. The database instance 990 may transmit information to theQFS 992. When information is transmitted to the QFS, it may be availablefor use by servers within the pod 944 without using an additionaldatabase call.

In some implementations, database information may be transmitted to theindexer 994. Indexer 994 may provide an index of information availablein the database 990 and/or QFS 992. The index information may beprovided to file servers 986 and/or the QFS 992.

In some implementations, one or more application servers or otherservers described above with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B include ahardware and/or software framework configurable to execute proceduresusing programs, routines, scripts, etc. Thus, in some implementations,one or more of application servers 50 ₁-50 _(N) of FIG. 4B can beconfigured to initiate performance of one or more of the operationsdescribed above with reference to FIGS. 1-3C by instructing anothercomputing device to perform an operation. In some implementations, oneor more application servers 50 ₁-50 _(N) carry out, either partially orentirely, one or more of the disclosed operations described withreference to FIGS. 1-3C. In some implementations, app servers 988 ofFIG. 5B support the construction of applications provided by theon-demand database service environment 900 via the pod 944. Thus, an appserver 988 may include a hardware and/or software framework configurableto execute procedures to partially or entirely carry out or instructanother computing device to carry out one or more operations disclosedherein, including operations described above with reference to FIGS.1-3C. In alternative implementations, two or more app servers 988 maycooperate to perform or cause performance of such operations. Any of thedatabases and other storage facilities described above with reference toFIGS. 4A, 4B, 5A and 5B can be configured to store lists, articles,documents, records, files, and other objects for implementing theoperations described above with reference to FIGS. 1-3C. For instance,lists of available communication channels associated with share actionsfor sharing a type of data item can be maintained in tenant data storage22 and/or system data storage 24 of FIGS. 4A and 4B. By the same token,lists of default or designated channels for particular share actions canbe maintained in storage 22 and/or storage 24. In some otherimplementations, rather than storing one or more lists, articles,documents, records, and/or files, the databases and other storagefacilities described above can store pointers to the lists, articles,documents, records, and/or files, which may instead be stored in otherrepositories external to the systems and environments described abovewith reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5A and 5B.

While some of the disclosed implementations may be described withreference to a system having an application server providing a front endfor an on-demand database service capable of supporting multipletenants, the disclosed implementations are not limited to multi-tenantdatabases nor deployment on application servers. Some implementationsmay be practiced using various database architectures such as ORACLE®,DB2® by IBM and the like without departing from the scope of theimplementations claimed.

It should be understood that some of the disclosed implementations canbe embodied in the form of control logic using hardware and/or computersoftware in a modular or integrated manner. Other ways and/or methodsare possible using hardware and a combination of hardware and software.

Any of the disclosed implementations may be embodied in various types ofhardware, software, firmware, and combinations thereof. For example,some techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, at least in part,by computer-readable media that include program instructions, stateinformation, etc., for performing various services and operationsdescribed herein. Examples of program instructions include both machinecode, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher-levelcode that may be executed by a computing device such as a server orother data processing apparatus using an interpreter. Examples ofcomputer-readable media include, but are not limited to: magnetic mediasuch as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media suchas flash memory, compact disk (CD) or digital versatile disk (DVD);magneto-optical media; and hardware devices specially configured tostore program instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM) devices andrandom access memory (RAM) devices. A computer-readable medium may beany combination of such storage devices.

Any of the operations and techniques described in this application maybe implemented as software code to be executed by a processor using anysuitable computer language such as, for example, Java, C++ or Perlusing, for example, object-oriented techniques. The software code may bestored as a series of instructions or commands on a computer-readablemedium. Computer-readable media encoded with the software/program codemay be packaged with a compatible device or provided separately fromother devices (e.g., via Internet download). Any such computer-readablemedium may reside on or within a single computing device or an entirecomputer system, and may be among other computer-readable media within asystem or network. A computer system or computing device may include amonitor, printer, or other suitable display for providing any of theresults mentioned herein to a user.

While various implementations have been described herein, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present applicationshould not be limited by any of the implementations described herein,but should be defined only in accordance with the following andlater-submitted claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for dynamically configuring a processassociated with an application based on environmental characteristics,the system comprising: a database system implemented using a serversystem comprising one or more processors, the database systemconfigurable to cause: providing the process associated with theapplication, the process comprising stages and associated decisionnodes, the process having a configurable flow along a path definable bya subset of the stages controllable by a subset of the associateddecision nodes, each decision node being controllable at least in partby a respective one or more criteria, processing contextual dataprovided by a mobile device on which the application is usable, thecontextual data indicating one or more environmental characteristicsmonitored using electronics of the mobile device, the one or moreenvironmental characteristics being associated with a physicalenvironment in which the mobile device is or has been located, theprocessing of the contextual data comprising: providing the contextualdata as a control input to one of the subset of decision nodes, the onedecision node associated with a current stage of the process, anddetermining that the contextual data satisfies one or more criteria atleast partially controlling the one decision node; configuring theprocess responsive to determining that the contextual data satisfies theone or more criteria, the configuring of the process comprisingdetermining and/or configuring a next stage to follow the current stageof the process; and storing or updating database data in a database toidentify the configuring of the process.
 2. The system of claim 1, thedatabase system further configurable to cause: updating a user interfaceat the mobile device to indicate at least the next stage of the process.3. The system of claim 1, wherein the application is situated on themobile device or on a server with which the mobile device is capable ofcommunicating.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein configuring the processcomprises one or more of: determining and/or configuring a behavior ofthe process, determining and/or configuring a logic of the process,determining and/or configuring a functionality of the process,determining and/or configuring a logic of a stage of the process,determining and/or configuring a workflow rule associated with a logicof the process, determining and/or configuring one or more user actionsto be performed, or determining and/or configuring one or more systemevents to be performed.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein a system eventis determined and/or configured to be performed in relation to one ormore of: a social network feed or a customer relationship management(CRM) record stored in a database.
 6. The system of claim 4, wherein auser action is determined and/or configured to be performed in relationto a task-based workflow.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein determiningthat the contextual data satisfies the one or more criteria comprises:applying one or more user-configurable workflow rules to the contextualdata, the one or more workflow rules being configurable by a referencevalue with which at least a portion of the contextual data can becompared.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the environmentalcharacteristics comprise at least: accelerometer information,geolocation information, altitude information, battery life information,network signal strength information, proximity sensor information, lightlevel information, noise level information and fingerprint information.9. The system of claim 1, wherein determining the next stage of theprocess comprises one or more of: replacing a stage, removing a stage,adding a stage, or modifying a stage.
 10. The system of claim 1, whereinthe next stage comprises one or more suggested tasks for a user toperform.
 11. A computer program product comprising computer-readableprogram code capable of being executed by one or more processors whenretrieved from a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the programcode comprising instructions configurable to cause: providing a processassociated with an application, the process comprising stages andassociated decision nodes, the process having a configurable flow alonga path definable by a subset of the stages controllable by a subset ofthe associated decision nodes, each decision node being controllable atleast in part by a respective one or more criteria, processingcontextual data provided by a mobile device on which the application isusable, the contextual data indicating one or more environmentalcharacteristics monitored using electronics of the mobile device, theone or more environmental characteristics being associated with aphysical environment in which the mobile device is or has been located,the processing of the contextual data comprising: providing thecontextual data as a control input to one of the subset of decisionnodes, the one decision node associated with a current stage of theprocess, and determining that the contextual data satisfies one or morecriteria at least partially controlling the one decision node;configuring the process responsive to determining that the contextualdata satisfies the one or more criteria, the configuring of the processcomprising determining and/or configuring a next stage to follow thecurrent stage of the process; and storing or updating database data in adatabase to identify the configuring of the process.
 12. The computerprogram product of claim 11, wherein configuring the process comprisesone or more of: determining and/or configuring a behavior of theprocess, determining and/or configuring a logic of the process,determining and/or configuring a functionality of the process,determining and/or configuring a logic of a stage of the process,determining and/or configuring a workflow rule associated with a logicof the process, determining and/or configuring one or more user actionsto be performed, or determining and/or configuring one or more systemevents to be performed.
 13. The computer program product of claim 11,wherein determining that the contextual data satisfies the one or morecriteria comprises: applying one or more user-configurable workflowrules to the contextual data, the one or more workflow rules beingconfigurable by a reference value with which at least a portion of thecontextual data can be compared.
 14. The computer program product ofclaim 11, wherein the environmental characteristics comprise at least:accelerometer information, geolocation information, battery lifeinformation, network signal strength information, proximity sensorinformation, light level information, and noise level information. 15.The computer program product of claim 11, wherein determining the nextstage of the process comprises one or more of: replacing a stage,removing a stage, adding a stage, or modifying a stage.
 16. A methodcomprising: providing a process associated with an application, theprocess comprising stages and associated decision nodes, the processhaving a configurable flow along a path definable by a subset of thestages controllable by a subset of the associated decision nodes, eachdecision node being controllable at least in part by a respective one ormore criteria, processing contextual data provided by a mobile device onwhich the application is usable, the contextual data indicating one ormore environmental characteristics monitored using electronics of themobile device, the one or more environmental characteristics beingassociated with a physical environment in which the mobile device is orhas been located, the processing of the contextual data comprising:providing the contextual data as a control input to one of the subset ofdecision nodes, the one decision node associated with a current stage ofthe process, and determining that the contextual data satisfies one ormore criteria at least partially controlling the one decision node;configuring the process responsive to determining that the contextualdata satisfies the one or more criteria, the configuring of the processcomprising determining and/or configuring a next stage to follow thecurrent stage of the process; and storing or updating computer readabledata in a computer readable medium to identify the configuring of theprocess.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein configuring the processcomprises one or more of: determining and/or configuring a behavior ofthe process, determining and/or configuring a logic of the process,determining and/or configuring a functionality of the process,determining and/or configuring a logic of a stage of the process,determining and/or configuring a workflow rule associated with a logicof the process, determining and/or configuring one or more user actionsto be performed, or determining and/or configuring one or more systemevents to be performed.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein determiningthat the contextual data satisfies the one or more criteria comprises:applying one or more user-configurable workflow rules to the contextualdata, the one or more workflow rules being configurable by a referencevalue with which at least a portion of the contextual data can becompared.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the environmentalcharacteristics comprise at least: accelerometer information,geolocation information, battery life information, network signalstrength information, proximity sensor information, light levelinformation, and noise level information.
 20. The method of claim 16,wherein determining the next stage of the process comprises one or moreof: replacing a stage, removing a stage, adding a stage, or modifying astage.